NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and the president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Seung Jo Kim, met in Washington Monday to discuss collaboration in aeronautics research and space exploration, including KARI’s robotic lunar mission and NASA’s asteroid initiative.
This was the first meeting between Bolden and Kim.
“Our two agencies share a mutual interest in aeronautics research, and have identified opportunities for collaboration,” said Bolden. “We also have partnered for several years in the International Space Exploration Coordination Group and are looking forward to continued discussions on potential cooperation in space exploration.”
Bolden and Kim also discussed NASA’s plans for a new asteroid initiative, previously announced in President Obama’s fiscal year 2014 budget proposal. Kim welcomed the chance to discuss opportunities for collaboration.
NASA’s asteroid initiative involves robotically capturing a small near-Earth asteroid and redirecting it safely to a stable lunar orbit where astronauts can explore it.
Capturing and redirecting an asteroid integrates the best of NASA’s science, technology and human exploration capabilities and draws on the innovation of America’s brightest scientists and engineers. The knowledge gained from the initiative will help us protect our planet, advance exploration capabilities and technologies for human spaceflight, and help us better utilize our space resources.